Women as catalysts for peace: Three receive Nobel

Nobel Peace Prize winners Yemeni human rights activist Tawakul Karman (left), Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee (centre) and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf pose with their awards during a ceremony in Oslo on Dec 10. -- PHOTO: REUTERS OSLO (AFP) - Liberia's president, a fellow Liberian and a Yemeni activist received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Saturday for showing how women facing war and oppression can shed the mantle of victimhood and lead the way to peace and democracy. 'You represent one of the most important motive forces for change in today's world: the struggle for human rights in general and the struggle of women for equality and peace in particular,' Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said before handing out the prestigious award. At the lavish ceremony in a colourfully flower-decked Oslo city hall, and with Norway's royal fam...